8.0

The Sword and the Sorcerer (Collector’s Edition)

Talon, a warrior rogue driven by justice, armed with a powerful tri-sword and with the promise of a night of passion with the beautiful Princess Alana, sets out to avenge his family’s deaths at the hands of an evil tyrant King Cromwell who has usurped his kingdom.  Forced into exile Talon returns to reclaim his royal birthright but must defeat not only Cromwell but also a powerful sorcerer demon name Xusia who has plans to make this land his own.

Evil and ambitious King Titus Cromwell, played brilliantly by actor Richard Lynch, journeys to Tomb Isle where he raises a powerful demon sorcerer named Xusia to aid him in his struggle against the prosperous Kingdom of Eh-Dan.  The demon tips the scales in Cromwell’s favour and he conquers all before him, slaying the reigning King Richard and his Queen before the eyes of their son Talon.  Talon flees for his life with only his father’s tri-sword, a three bladed weapon that shoots forth two blades from a distance, to protect him.  Cromwell is treacherous towards his demon ally and stabs him, fearing Xusia with become more powerful and likely threaten in the future.  The sorcerer is seen falling from a cliff in an attempt to escape.  Eleven years later Talon returns with a bunch of mercenaries, he is hired by a beautiful princess named Alana (Kathleen Beller), to rescue her brother who is leading a rebellion from the tyrannical rule of Cromwell.  She promises him one night of passion if successful.  Using his wits and powerful fighting skills Talon returns her brother safely but is captured himself and crucified.  Alana is also captured and set to marry Cromwell against her will.  Meanwhile Cromwell is increasingly paranoid fearing Xusia’s survival; it is a fear that is well founded.  Xusia has taken human form in the guise of Machelli; Cromwell’s must trusted advisor and is manipulating events to seek vengeance on his hated former ally.  Talon’s fame exceeds him and he is supported by a popular uprising against Cromwell, he manages to slay Xusia and Cromwell with the aid of his trusty tri-sword and bed the beautiful Alana.

Well received by critics upon its initial release this movie has attained a cult like following.  It is an excellently paced action adventure with moments of humour and a great villain in Titus Cromwell.  Talon (Lee Horsley) is a likable hero who gets the amount of comedy and action perfect with his character, we actually care about him.  He has a great scene where he gatecrashers into a harem of lovely scantily clad concubines who help his escape, only to be knocked out a window when he views the naked Alana which mesmerizes him for a second.  The scenery and props are all well done with a great dungeon housing a sadistic torturer who meets a grisly end on a grindstone.  The character of Xusia/Machelli is great as a foil to both Talon and Cromwell; he is truly a terrifying personification of malevolence.

Released in 1982 picture quality is reasonable but is set in darkness for most of the situations.  It is shot in 16X9 widescreen aspect ratio and has Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.  Running time is approximately 96 minutes.  Extras include an audio commentary with director Albert Pyun and film critic Chris Gore exclusive to the Australian release, 2 theatrical trailers and a TV spot

Easily one of the best sword and sorcery movies to come out of this genre I highly recommend it to all who like an exciting well made adventure.  Rumour has it that the sequel is in preproduction called Tales of the Ancient Empire some 27 years later, should be interesting to revisit this universe.  Great movie, some very funny moments and a terrific cast who do a fine job entertaining.  A definite classic to own that appeals to everyone.  If only you could still buy those plastic toy tri-swords that came out during the movie’s heyday.